Part 252

Dicæum assimilis Bourns and Worcester, Minnesota Acad. Nat. Sci. Occ. Papers (1894), 1, 19; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 96.

Sulu (Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester).

"Adult male.--Above exactly like D. sibutense, but chin, throat, and fore breast very much lighter than sides of face, being clear ashy gray, as in D. trigonostigma. As Dr. Sharpe expressly states that this is not the case in S. sibutense, but that the latter species has the throat like the sides of the face and head, it is evident that the Sulu and Tawi Tawi (?) birds belong to a distinct species having the back of D. sibutense and the under surface of D. trigonostigma.

"Adult female like that of D. sibutense, but with the throat, upper breast, and sides of face light ashy gray, uniformly washed with yellow. The plate in Ibis seems to show a faint orange mark on the back of the female of D. sibutense, though no such marking is described in the text. If this is the case, the female of D. sibutense differs from that of every other Philippine representative of the genus.

"A male from Sulu measures 89 in length; culmen, 13; wing, 52; tail, 24.6; tarsus, 13.4. Two females from the same locality measure 84 in length; culmen, 12.7; wing, 50; tail, 24.6; tarsus, 12. We have only females from Tawi Tawi and can not be quite sure of the identification." (Bourns and Worcester.)

635. DICÆUM SIBUTUENSE Sharpe.

SIBUTU FLOWERPECKER.

Dicæum sibutuense Sharpe, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club (1893), 3, no. 12, 10; Ibis (1894), 251, pl. 7, figs. 1 and 2; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 97.

Sibutu (Everett).

"This is an interesting species, new to science. Like D. trigonostigma, it has a slate-colored throat, but the latter is blackish slate-color, like the sides of the face and head, and not lighter gray as in D. trigonostigma. The Sibutu bird, moreover, resembles D. dorsale in having an orange patch in the center of the back, the lower back and rump being slaty gray, slightly washed with olive, and not orange-yellow as in D. trigonostigma. The female, as might be expected, closely resembles that of D. trigonostigma, but is tinted with olive-green on the rump, and has not the orange shade of the hen of the last-named species." (Sharpe.)

The figure of the female of D. sibutuense in The Ibis has a pale yellow patch on the back, a character which is found in no other Philippine species of the genus.

636. DICÆUM CINEREIGULARE Tweeddale.

ASHY-CHINNED FLOWERPECKER.

Dicæum cinereigulare Tweeddale, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1877), 829; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1885), 10, 40; Grant and Whitehead, Ibis (1898), 243 (eggs); Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 234 (nest); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 97.

Bohol (McGregor); Leyte (Steere Exp., Whitehead); Mindanao (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Samar (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead).

Male.--Somewhat similar to D. intermedium, the rump slate-blue like the back; chin lemon-yellow; throat lightly washed with yellow; entire breast orpiment-orange. Bill, legs, and nails black. A male from Bohol measures: Length, 89; wing, 48; tail, 23; culmen from base, 11.5; bill from nostril, 8; tarsus, 12.5.

Female.--Above mouse-gray; rump washed with olive-green; lores blackish; cheeks, line around eye, and a narrow frontal band washed with yellow; chin light yellow; under parts ashy gray, washed with yellow on sides and flanks, and with a band of yellow down middle of breast and abdomen; under tail-coverts yellow. A female from Bohol, wing, 47; tail, 21; culmen from base, 10; bill from nostril, 7; tarsus, 12.

"Five males average: Length, 86; wing, 49; tail, 23.6; culmen, 12; tarsus, 12; middle toe with claw, 12. Two females, length, 82.5; wing, 45; tail, 20.5; culmen, 12.7; tarsus, 11; middle toe with claw, 12. Iris dark brown; bill, legs, feet, and nails black. Breeding in Samar in August." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Three sets of eggs of this flowerpecker were collected by Whitehead near Paranas, Samar, in July, 1896. These eggs are described as rather long, ovate in shape, pure white, and measuring 15 mm. by 12 mm.

"Nest round, pocket-shaped, with the entrance at the side, suspended from slender boughs or to the stem of a large leaf. The outside of the nest is made of green moss bound together with spider's webs, the inside lined with the dark brown down stripped from the young fern-fronds. A favorite site is a neglected native clearing some distance from the forest." (Grant and Whitehead.)

637. DICÆUM BESTI Steere.

BEST'S FLOWERPECKER.

Dicæum besti Steere, List Birds & Mams. Steere Exped. (1890), 22; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 97.

Pis-pis, Siquijor.

Siquijor (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino).

Male.--Similar to the male of D. cinereigulare, but the throat clear ashy gray, not washed with yellow; rump with a slightly yellow wash. Wing, 52; tail, 27; culmen from base, 13; bill from nostril, 9; tarsus, 14.

Female.--Plumbeous above; rump, tail-coverts, and center of back greenish yellow; chin pale yellow; throat and chest ashy gray; middle of breast and of abdomen and tail-coverts rich lemon-yellow; sides and flanks ashy gray, washed with tea-green; primaries edged with cinereous. Wing, 50; tail, 25; culmen from base, 12; bill from nostril, 8; tarsus, 13.

"Eighteen males average: Length, 142; wing, 52; tail, 26; culmen, 14; tarsus, 13; middle toe with claw, 14. Fifteen females, length, 140; wing, 50; tail, 25; culmen, 14; tarsus, 12.7; middle toe with claw, 13. Legs, feet, nails, and bill black. Breeding in February." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)